An open roof construction for a vehicle having a roof opening comprises at least a closure member supported by the stationary part and configured to open and close the roof opening. A wind deflector is positioned near the front of the roof opening and is movable between an ineffective position below the fixed roof and an effective position projecting above the fixed roof. The wind deflector includes flexible wind deflecting material attached to an upper elongate element. The wind deflecting material is also connected at its lower end to a stationary part. An intermediate element is attached to the material between its upper and lower ends and extends along substantially the width of the wind deflecting material. At least a part of the intermediate element is biased toward a first position is displaced in a direction toward an edge of the roof opening when the wind deflector to the effective position.
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13. An open roof construction for a vehicle having a roof opening in its fixed roof, comprising:
a stationary part,
at least a closure member supported by the stationary part and configured to close the opening in the fixed roof and to selectively open the roof opening by being moved rearwardly, and
a wind deflector positioned near the front of the roof opening, said wind deflector configured to be movable between an ineffective position below the fixed roof and an effective position projecting above the fixed roof, the wind deflector including flexible wind deflecting material attached at an upper end to an upper elongate element which is movably connected to the stationary part and configured to extend at least along the front of the roof opening and the wind deflecting material being connected at a lower end to the stationary part, the wind deflecting material being provided with an intermediate elongate element attached to the wind deflecting material between the upper and lower ends and extending along substantially the width of the wind deflecting material, the intermediate elongate element being made of metal and being attached to the wind deflecting material only.
14. Open roof construction for a vehicle having a roof opening in its fixed roof, comprising:
a stationary part,
at least a closure member supported by the stationary part and configured to close the opening in the fixed roof and to selectively open the roof open by being moved rearwardly, and
a wind deflector configured to be positioned near the front of the roof opening and configured to be movable between an ineffective position and an effective position projecting above the fixed roof, the wind deflector comprising:
an upper elongate element which is movably connected to the stationary part;
a flexible wind deflecting material attached at the upper elongate element and configured to extend at least along a front of the roof opening, a lower end of the wind deflecting material being connected to the stationary part, the wind deflecting material being taut in the effective position and folded in the ineffective position; and
an intermediate elongate element attached to the wind deflecting material between the upper and lower ends and extending along substantially the width of the wind deflecting material, the intermediate elongate element being configured so as to have a first shape when the wind deflector material is in the ineffective position of the wind deflector and in a second shape when the wind deflector material is in the effective position.
19. An open roof construction for a vehicle having a roof opening, having a front edge, in its fixed roof, comprising:
a stationary part,
at least a closure member supported by the stationary part and configured to close the roof opening in the fixed roof and to selectively open the roof opening by being moved at least longitudinally rearwardly from the front edge, and
a wind deflector positioned near the front of the roof opening, said wind deflector being configured to be movable between an ineffective position below the fixed roof and an effective position projecting above the fixed roof, the wind deflector including flexible wind deflecting material attached at an upper end to an upper elongate element which is movably connected to the stationary part and configured to extend at least along the front of the roof opening and the wind deflecting material being connected at a lower end to the stationary part, the wind deflecting material being provided with an intermediate elongate element attached to the wind deflecting material between the upper and lower ends and extending along substantially the width of the wind deflecting material, wherein at least a part of the intermediate elongate element is configured so as to be biased toward a position spaced from the front edge of the roof opening and is displaced longitudinally in a direction toward the front edge of the roof opening when the wind deflector is moved from the ineffective position to the effective position.
1. An open roof construction for a vehicle having a roof opening in its fixed roof, the roof opening having a front side and two lateral sides providing edges of the roof opening, comprising:
a stationary part,
at least a closure member supported by the stationary part and configured to close the roof opening in the fixed roof and to selectively open the roof opening by being moved at least rearwardly, and
a wind deflector positioned near the front of the roof opening, said wind deflector being configured to be movable between an ineffective position below the fixed roof and an effective position projecting above the fixed roof, the wind deflector including flexible wind deflecting material attached at an upper end to an upper elongate element which is movably connected to the stationary part and configured to extend at least along the front of the roof opening and the wind deflecting material being connected at a lower end to the stationary part, the wind deflecting material being provided with an intermediate elongate element attached to the wind deflecting material between the upper and lower ends and extending along substantially the width of the wind deflecting material, wherein at least a part of the intermediate elongate element is configured so as to be biased toward a position spaced from at least one edge of the roof opening and is displaced in a direction toward the at least one edge of the roof opening when the wind deflector is moved from the ineffective position to the effective position;
wherein the upper and intermediate elongate elements have a central part extending substantially parallel to the front side of the roof opening and end parts extending, in plan view, substantially parallel to the lateral sides of the roof opening, the flexible wind deflecting material being attached both to the central part and to the end parts of the elongate elements;
wherein the intermediate elongate element is flexible and at least side portions of the intermediate elongate element are biased away from adjacent edges of the roof opening.
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The discussion below is merely provided for general background information and is not intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.
Aspects of the invention relates to an open roof construction for a vehicle having a roof opening in its fixed roof, comprising a stationary part, at least a closure member supported by the stationary part and adapted to close the roof opening in the fixed roof and to selectively open it by being moved at least rearwardly, and a wind deflector positioned near the front of the roof opening, said wind deflector being movable between an ineffective position below the fixed roof and an effective position projecting above the fixed roof, the wind deflector including flexible wind deflecting material attached at its upper end to an upper elongate element which is movably connected to the stationary part and extends at least along the front of the roof opening and the wind deflecting material being connected at its lower end to the stationary part, the wind deflecting material being provided with an intermediate elongate element attached to the wind deflecting material between its upper and lower ends and extending along substantially the width of the wind deflecting material.
This Summary and the Abstract herein are provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This Summary and the Abstract are not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor are they intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter. The claimed subject matter is not limited to implementations that solve any or all disadvantages noted in the Background.
An aspect of the invention includes at least a part of the intermediate elongate element being biased toward a position spaced from the edge of the roof opening and is displaced in a direction toward the edge of the roof opening when the wind deflector is moved from its ineffective to its effective position.
Another aspect of the invention comprises the intermediate elongate element being configured so as to have a first shape when the wind deflector material is in the ineffective position of the wind deflector (not being taut) and in a second shape when the wind deflector material 6 is in the effective position of the wind deflector (taut). The intermediate elongate element or portions thereof, are configured to be resilient so as to return to the first shape after being in the second shape.
Due to this movement of the intermediate elongate element, the risk of the closure element catching the flexible wind deflecting material is reduced as it is moved away from the edge of the roof opening by the intermediate elongate element when the wind deflector moves to the ineffective position. Thus, the wind deflector can be positioned close to the front edge of the roof opening which is favorable in view of reducing aerodynamic noises.
In a particular embodiment, the roof opening is substantially rectangular having a front side and two lateral sides, the upper and intermediate elongate elements having a central part extending substantially parallel to the front side of the roof opening and end parts extending, in plan view, substantially parallel to the lateral sides of the roof opening, the flexible wind deflecting material being attached both to the central part and to the end parts of the elongate element.
In this manner, the movement of the flexible wind deflecting material can be controlled along its whole cross section.
In this embodiment, the intermediate elongate element may be flexible and at least the side portions may be biased in an inward direction away from the adjacent edges of the roof opening.
In this way, the side edges of the flexible wind deflecting material can be moved away from the roof opening edge by an internal biasing force.
Additionally, or alternatively, the intermediate elongate element as a whole may be biased in a rearward direction away from the front edge of the roof opening, for example by means of a biasing device engaging the intermediate elongate element on the one hand and connected to at least one of the upper elongate element and the stationary part on the other hand.
This is a simple manner of moving the intermediate elongate element away from the front edge of the roof opening, in this case by an external biasing force.
In an embodiment, the upper elongate element is attached to the stationary part such that its movement to bring the wind deflector from its ineffective to its effective position causes a relatively small rearward displacement.
Due to this feature, it is possible to position the wind deflector close to the front edge of the roof opening when in the effective position without encountering obstructions when the wind deflector is moved to its ineffective position.
Such movement can be accomplished if the upper elongate element is movable by means of arms which are pivotable by means of lateral axes positioned substantially at the level of the fixed roof at the position of the front of the roof opening.
In this manner, there is no need for a complex mechanism, as the movement in a circle at the level of the axis of rotation is almost vertical, so almost without horizontal component.
If the intermediate elongate element is made of a heavy material, preferably metal, gravity force will hold the upper part of the flexible wind deflecting material substantially taut, and this will reduce the risk of clamping of the flexible material between the closure member and the fixed roof.
In a simple embodiment the intermediate elongate element is a rod, and may be attached to the flexible wind deflecting material on the front side thereof.
The intermediate elongate element may be provided in a pocket of the flexible wind deflecting material, but if the flexible wind deflecting material is made of a plastic containing material, the intermediate elongate element may also be attached to the flexible wind deflecting material by welding.
The intermediate elongate element may be loaded, for example clamped or biased, when the wind deflector is in its ineffective position in order to prevent rattling of the intermediate elongate element.
Further details and advantages of the open roof construction follow from the description below with reference to the attached drawings showing embodiments of the open roof construction by way of example.
Referring to
The open roof construction includes a stationary part 4, such as a frame, for supporting parts of the open roof construction and for mounting the open roof construction to the fixed roof 1 of the vehicle.
To prevent or at least reduce aerodynamic noises when the vehicle is driving with the panel 3 in its rearwardly opened position, the open roof construction is provided with a wind deflector 5 positioned near the front of the roof opening 2. The wind deflector 5 is movable between an ineffective position below the fixed roof 1 and an effective position projecting above the fixed roof 1, see
As is shown, the longitudinal end portions of the intermediate elongate element 9 rotate inwardly through angle α. Other parts of the intermediate elongate element 9 may be biased too, for example the side portions of the central transverse section of element 9. In this manner, the intermediate elongate element 9 is moved away from the edges of the roof opening 2 when the wind deflector 5 is displaced to its ineffective position, thereby reducing the risk of this material 6 being caught.
Although the subject matter has been described in language specific to structural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the subject matter defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above as has been determined by the courts. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims. For example, the invention is also useful in open roof constructions having other closure members such as for example a folding cover. The flexible wind deflecting material could be formed from one part of material or from several parts, connected to each other, for example at the intermediate elongate element.
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Executed on | Assignor | Assignee | Conveyance | Frame | Reel | Doc |
Jan 10 2014 | Inalfa Roof Systems Group B.V. | (assignment on the face of the patent) | / | |||
Feb 20 2014 | CADENA, GASTON EDGAR VALENCIA | INALFA ROOF SYSTEMS GROUP B V | ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS | 032469 | /0679 |
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